Final Fantasy 15
by XellanxLarxene
Summary: He needs her to stop Caius. However, he seems so mysterious. Can He be trusted? Just what is he hiding? And why does he need Lightning in this plan? Lightning Farron/OC Also, contains Language, Violence, and many more
1. Beginning

**A.N. **"This is normal speak" *This is thought*

* * *

**First P.O.V.**

I opened the doors to the giant building, showing off the lack of people inside. "Hello? Is anybody in here?" I yelled out through the cover I wore over my face. The only sounds I heard in the entire place were the minute clinks coming from my armor plates coming into contact with each other. I ran into the other room, trying to minimize the time I spent in this giant temple. After looking through three rooms, I finally found what I was looking for. I walked up to the giant, crystal rose bloom, looking into the large angular shape. I looked for about a half second, for then I saw the woman inside. "Lightning, in her bottle." I said to myself. I stepped back from the giant rose bloom, and summoned my Gunblade, which had similar features to an older, "Revolver" model, but with improvements, like a barrel hidden within the blade itself. I aimed the giant blade, flipping the safety off, and fired a round at the top of the rose petals. I had already made sure that the bullet was made with a special Magic inside of it, so when the bullet connected, it did as I commanded.

The petal immediately started shifting down, along with the other ones. In a minute, the entire rose bulb and petals had all receded, leaving only the woman inside. I walked over to her, sending my Gunblade away, and lightly touched her shoulder, which caused her to stir. She lifted her head, and looked at me with her blue eyes. "Good. You don't appear harmed." I said, lifting her arms up, enabling her to try to use her legs. She stumbled only once, her naked body colliding into my armor plating, mainly on my chest. "Okay, I'm going to have to let you get used to walking again." I told her, wrapping a blanket that I had found earlier for that reason. "W-who are you?" She asked, her pink hair falling into her face. "My name is Darkanimir. I'm here to help you." I told her.

I let her go around after she was able to walk again, and I told her to get some clothes, then I waited out on a balcony nearby. I watched the view of Valhalla, taking in all of the sights, when I heard a voice behind me say, "Okay. Now, for starters, how did you manage to get me out of the crystal?" I turned around to see Lightning, in ripped jeans, a leather vest, specifically designed for woman's wear, and some strange belt, with a strapped on holster, which held what I believe was a shotgun. "Magic bullet. Enabled me to open your prison." I told her, leaning back on the handrail. She nodded, then pulled out her mysterious device, showing it to be the converted version of an old soldier's Gunblade, in gun mode, and pointed it at me. "Now that's a mouthful." I said to her, holding my hands up. "Shut up. Why did you break me out of there?" She ordered. "What, you liked being in that prison?" I asked her. "In my last few years, I've been screwed over too many times than I can count. Now tell me why the fuck you broke me out of that goddamn rose!" She ordered, pushing the barrel of the gun closer towards my nose. "Alright, I'll tell you." I said, pushing the Gunblade away, "But first, could you please remove this from the vicinity of my face?" She lowered her Gunblade, but kept it out, and at her side.

"Alright. I'm here because the universe needs you. Do you know a man by the name of 'Caius', by any chance?" I asked her. Her eyes widened, then nodded. "Well, he's been on a path to slay the Gods. I was asked by the last one to stop him, at any cost. I had heard that you had put up a good fight against him, and I thought that you could help me out. That is why I freed you. I need your help to end this." I told her. She looked down on the ground, in thought, so I said, "If you don't want to come, that's fine. Just tell me before I head out tomorrow, because I'm not coming back any time soon." I walked away from the balcony after this, into the main atrium. I opened my pack to assemble my large tent when I heard boots running towards me. I stopped putting the poles together, and turned my body, to see Lightning, with her arms crossed. "Alright, I'm in." She said. "Good. Now, there's a spare tent in the bag, but if you want to be able to get up early, then there's enough room in my tent. At first light tomorrow, we head to Rabanastre." I told her. "Why are we going to Rabanastre?" Lightning asked, getting out two cots. "The best pilots are in Rabanastre. Trust me, If I'm right, then we'll need a set of good pilots." I said, finishing erecting the tent.

* * *

We made the journey to Rabanastre in a speedier time than I had originally thought, mainly by the added benefit of Lightning's Gestalt Form of her Eidolon, Odin. After the half of a day on it, we finally reached the large city's gate. We got off, and I instructed her to follow me. After a little walking, we had managed to see an old item shop that somehow was still in business. When I walked in, it was amazingly clean, and the shelves were neatly organized. I walked up to the counter, where an old walking lizard came up to me, and said, "What can old Migelo do for you today, son?" "Well sir, I'll take a couple of potions, and if you know of where I can find a daring pilot, then that would be helpful." I told him. He nodded, reaching under the table, and said, "That'll be 160 gil, please." I pulled the required gil from within my armor plating, and placed it into his hands. He handed me the bottles of potion, which I placed into my bag immediately, when he said to me, "If you're looking for pilots, I recommend two of them, currently in the tavern down the street. Look for someone with the ears of a rabbit, you can't miss her. The other one is right beside her." Migelo told us. Lightning and I nodded, then left the shop.

"Why did you buy those potions from that old man? We have plenty." Lightning asked me on the walk to the tavern. "Common courtesy. I didn't want to make it look like we didn't have any manners." I explained. She nodded, in understanding, when we made it to the tavern. I opened the door, then said to Lightning, "Ladies first." She walked in, and I walked in immediately after. She and I were scanning the crowd in the tavern when Lightning nudged my arm. "Look." She said, pointing to two people, one of which with large bunny ears, who were on the section of the tavern that was raised. I looked and nodded at Lightning, who nodded at me as well, and we walked up to the two people.

"What do you want?" The guy next to the bunny girl, who I now see was a Viera, asked me, rather arrogantly. "We need a couple of daring pilots to help us out. We heard you two were good." I told them. "We're far better than good. We're the best. Right, Fran?" He said to the Viera, who calmly said, "Right." "Well, we need a pilot who is willing to take us around the world, helping us on our quest by giving us transport. Are you up for the challenge?" I said, producing a large bag of gil and tossing it directly onto the table. The man picked it up, and when he looked inside, his eyes widened. "All of that gil, and more, and in turn you take us wherever we need to go, whenever we need to go. So, are you in?" I asked him. He looked at the Viera, who stared at him, so he looked at me, and said, "Balthier and Fran, at your service. Just let us know when you are going to fly."

* * *

We all went to the port where airships docked, when I told them that we had to head to Edge, where we'd be finding another member of our party. "If we're going that far, then we'll need to refuel in Besaid. What kind of quest are you two going on, anyway?" Balthier asked us. "We're trying to save the Gods by defeating Caius." Lightning said. "That's a suicide mission. You'd never be able to get near him." Fran said to us, looking towards us from the pilot's seat. "I'll pay you double. Once we kill Caius, then you get your gil." I told them. "Relax," Said Balthier, "We weren't trying to dissuade you, just voicing our opinions. By the way, why do you wear that?" He pointed to the piece of cloth I kept up to over a bit of my nose, so I covered it up, and said, "A scar from an old burn. I don't like talking about it." It was a bad lie, but it had managed to convince Balthier and Fran. When I looked over to Lightning, she looked at me with doubt in her eyes.

"Hey Balthier, do we have rooms here? Or do we sleep in the cockpit?" I asked him. "You each get your own rooms. I'll show you the way." He said, getting out of his seat. Lightning and I followed him out of the room, leaving Fran to her lonesome. We walked about halfway through the ship when he stopped and turned, facing us. "These next two rooms are unused. You can decide upon who gets which in a second. Firstly, would you mind if I asked for your names?" He asked us. "I'm Darkanimir." I told him. "I'm Lightning." She told him. He laughed, then said, "Light and Dark, traveling together. That is a strange combination." He walked back to the cockpit, and as soon as he was out of earshot, I looked at Lightning, and asked her, "Did he just seriously call me, 'Dark'?" "I like it. Besides, he knew what name I also go by." Lightning told me. I rolled my eyes, then started to go into the room that was closest, when Lightning asked me, "So, Dark, why do you _really_ wear that thing over your face?" I paused for a moment, and I said, "It's to protect my identity. When the time is right, I'll show you my face."

I closed the door immediately when I entered the small room. I turned to see a hammock in the room, as a bed. I walked over and sat in the roped netting, and started to take off my armor.

**Lightning's P.O.V.**

I walked back over to Dark's room after seeing the sleeping quarters. I opened the door, and started off, "Hey, what's with the-" When I heard him yell, "Get OUT!" I looked at him and saw that he was clutching the chestplate on his front and his facemask, and his lower plates of armor and his armguards were off. "Sorry!" I said, closing the door. I heard an almost immediate click of the lock inside, so I went back to my room as fast as my name. I laid down on the hammock in my room, holding my Gunblade in my arms, when I started to think, *Okay, I need to assess my situation. One, I've been freed from that stupid prison by Dark. Two, He has a lot more mysteries than he lets out. Why won't he let anyone see his face, or his chest, apparently.* I paused my thinking, then resumed, *Come to think of it, his Gunblade has bandages on it, and the chain that you normally see on the end of the handle was within his hand. Normally, Gunblades have a symbol on them, signifying an aspect of your self, so why is he covering that up? I need to keep a close eye on him.*


	2. Taking a Hit

**A.N.:**** This chapter has a special "Game" in it. Try to identify all of the references that I don't give to you guys directly in here. Now, you know the drill. **"This is normal speech" *This is thought*

The names for the children are a direct reference to my good friend, Dragons Before Dawn(on here) and ~DragonLover4Ever on dA. They are not mine, and I am simply borrowing them.

* * *

**Dark's P.O.V.**

I strapped my armor back on in a flash after Lightning nearly found out my secret. I knew then that I had to keep my armor on, full time. "Well, looks like I'm locking the door for my baths." I said to myself, resting my hand behind my head, as a makeshift pillow. I was resting peacefully when I heard a knock at my door. I slid off of my hammock, went over to the door, unlocking it in the process, and slid it open a little to see who it was. I saw the familiar pink hairstyle and blue eyes of Lightning. "Hey, can I come in?" She asked. I slid the door the rest of the way open, and she walked in. I immediately slid the door back to its closed position, and quickly locked it. "Sorry. I have a lot of privacy issues. Please forgiving me for locking my door constantly." I told her, face towards the door. "It's alright. I do that sometimes too." She said as soon as I turned back to her. She walked over to me, tapped my breastplate, and asked me, "What the hell is under this that is so damn important and secretive?" I gulped, not wanting to have to explain the true reasoning, so I quickly said, "It's a long story. I can bore you with it when the Gods aren't in danger of extinction." "Or we could discuss it now. The way to Besaid is far from Rabanastre, at least one day's travel on an airship. So, what is the big secret?" She countered with. I gulped again, then decided on the thing that came up off of the top of my head.

"It's where I actually have a burn. What I told Balthier was true, it just was on a different section of my body." I told her. She looked at me with a frown, then said, "You're still lying, and to me this time. That is a major fucking mistake. Look, if we're in this mission together, then we have to trust each other, with everything. Now what is so goddamn special about your fucking chest?!" She started yelling, grabbing the top of my breastplate, about to rip it off. I quickly pulled her Gunblade out from her holster, flipped it into blade form, and held the tip at the bottom of her jaw. "Back. Away. From. My. Armor." I slowly said, holding the blade where it was. Lightning let go of her grip on my armor, and backed away, holding her hands up. I straightened my armor back to where it was with my free hand, the other one keeping the Gunblade pointed at her. When I fixed my armor, I shifted the Gunblade back to its gun form, and handed it back to Lightning. She took it back gingerly, as if not understanding why I didn't try to kill her. "I'm sorry, but some secrets are best kept that way: secret. I'll tell you when I'm ready." I told her.

"Fine." She said after putting her Gunblade back into the holster, and walked closer to me once again. "Can I leave the room now?" She asked. I stepped away from blocking the door, and she unlocked it, walking out before turning to say, "If you need anyone who understands how much secrets can hurt, just talk to me." I nodded, then closed the door, locking it as well. I walked back over to the hammock, and laid on it, viewing the ceiling. What I saw was most curious: a small drawing of a green headed mushroom with eyes, and two words above it. "GET A" The words said, then immediately switched to the strange mushroom with eyes. "Strange. But I've seen stranger." I said to myself, looking back at my breastplate.

**Light's P.O.V.**

I laid on my hammock, and rubbed the underside of my chin, where Dark held my Gunblade at, trying to keep his breastplate on. *Why does he hold something like that a secret. He's got nothing to hide, maybe a few battle scars, but those should be worn with pride.* I thought, dropping my hand to over my left breast, where I could still feel a slight ripple from where my brand was. *Wait, maybe... maybe he has one of these.* I started thinking, stroking the scar, *Maybe he's a cursed warrior, like how I was. But that still doesn't explain why he chooses to hide his face, unless it's advanced and is on a place like his neck.* I imagined him again, but remembered that his cloth over his face gives off a large view of his neck, which had no imperfections whatsoever. *Damn, that isn't possible. There has to be a reason why he covers his face up. But what?* I thought again, moving my hand to rest over my stomach. I exhaled, not able to solve this puzzle as presented to me, when I heard over an intercom, "All passengers to the cabin. Repeat, all passengers to the cabin." "Finally, something to do." I said to myself.

Dark and I walked to the cabin together, slightly uneasy for the both of us, due to the fact that we had the confrontation. As soon as we got to the cabin, we took our former seats, Dark behind Balthier, and myself behind Fran. "We are almost to Besaid Village, where we will refuel. Now, the refueling process takes about ten hours, so try to find something productive to do with your time. I've heard that some of the creatures on the island are quite different." Balthier told us. "Like what? People who grow, shrink or live longer by eating mushrooms? A hedgehog who can run faster than an airship? A creature that feeds on energy, and a girl with a gun built into her suit of armor? I've heard of such madness, and it's just that: madness." Dark said back to him. "Yeah," I said, "I've heard an old drunk say that there was a mouse with cheeks full of lightning. It's all just hogwash." "Well, be that as it may, you will need to go elsewhere while we're refueling. Might I suggest a walk down to the beach?" Balthier suggested. "Fine." Dark said. "I don't care." I said, keeping an eye to see if Dark's cloth over his mouth moved at all, which it didn't.

* * *

We left the ship and went to Besaid Village, where everybody was in residence in large, lean-to tents. I walked beside Dark, who was leading, when we heard a scream. I turned to our six, when a small boy and girl clung to my left and right leg, respectively. "Help us, Lady and Mister!" They both screamed, when a large Golem came from the mountain road. "Hide!" I ordered, which they quickly followed. I pulled out my Gunblade, while Dark simply held his hand out. Black electricity surrounded it, and his Gunblade quickly came as well, the bandage unmoved on it. "Let's kill this thing!" I told him. He nodded, which once again did not dislodge the cloth over his face, and we ran up to the thing.

"Safety ON!" He yelled, touching the upper part of the handle with his spare hand, then he jumped above the massive monster's height, bringing his Gunblade above his head. I quickly made a few cuts along the big creature's knees, while Dark brought the full weight of his Gunblade down onto the creature's head. I looked closely to see that he pulled the trigger at least five times. Once round five hit, the blade quickly slid through the creature's head, instantly killing it. He quickly dug his Gunblade into the front of the falling monster, delaying his descent. As soon as he got back onto the ground and sent his Gunblade back to wherever the hell it goes, the creature disappeared into two glowing white balls of flying fire. "How the hell could you do that? I thought that you could only shoot bullets with that thing." I asked him. "That's when the Safety's off. When it's on, the blade increases in vibration with every trigger pull. It's a concept from a very old and very hard to master version of the Gunblade. Only two people can utilize it to its fullest today, and I'm one of them." He explained to me.

**Dark's P.O.V.**

I had just explained to Lightning how my Gunblade works, when the two children who came to warn us of the creature came up to us. I knelt down and looked at both of them, and was amazed. The boy had a Green eye and a Blue eye, while the girl had a Blue eye and a Brown one. "You two... you both have heterochromia." I said to them. The boy nodded, and said, "We get it from our Mama." "There you two are!" I heard from ahead. I looked up to see a man with light brown hair, an open chested shirt, and strange looking shorts, with a strange symbol on one leg. Walking with her arm in his arm, was the mother, a woman with brown hair, a large robe with purple at the bottom, and the most peculiar thing: A green eye, and a Blue eye. "Ah, I see that you two are the parents of these young ones." I said to them, standing back up. "Yeah, these two little monsters are ours. I'm Tidus, and this is my wife, Yuna." The man said. "Darkanimir. Call me Dark." I said, offering my hand, which he shook. "Alright, now, who's your lady?" He asked.

"WHAT?" Both Lightning and I yelled at Tidus. Yuna hit him with a light punch, and said, "Tidus, not every man and woman who travel together are _together_." He scratched the back of his neck, and said, "Sorry about that. I had just assumed..." "Well, you know what they say about assuming: it makes an ASS out of you and me." Lightning replied. "I apologize for my husband. Please, tell us your name so that we can thank you for saving our children." Yuna asked Lightning. "I'm Lightning. Call me Light." She told her. "Okay! Well, thank you two, for rescuing Todd and Rose from that monster. Had Tidus and I gotten here faster, we would have assisted you." Yuna said to us. "Well, you're welcome. And we're always happy to help out whenever it's needed." I said, ruffling Todd's hair. Light and I walked down the path that the children were coming from, planning on investigating what was down there.

* * *

Lightning and I were at the waterfall when the bridge before us was obliterated before our eyes. When we looked up at the cause, we saw a man in dark purple armor, and instantly knew who it was. "Caius." We both said. "Glad to see that you are trying to fight me." He said back. I summoned my Gunblade, and flipped the Safety off. Lightning pulled out her Gunblade, and kept it in the gun form. He raised his wicked looking form, and sent a deadly arc of energy towards us. I focused Dark energy into the next bullet, and fired directly at it, causing it to shatter. "Impressive. Most impressive. But let's see if you can escape from this attack." He gloated. He held his sword in both hands, drew completely Dark energy into it, then launched a massive fireball, about the size of a Chocobo's head, and aimed it at Lightning. It came hurtling extremely fast towards her, so I did what I thought had to be done. I dropped my Gunblade, and jumped in front of the blast, just before it hit Lightning.

I immediately blacked out.

**Light's P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Dark had managed to move faster than I could ever, something that is not easy, and he took a direct hit from one of Caius's attacks. "Dark!" I yelled as he fell. "How intriuging. He took a shot for you. Perhaps he thought that it could end his contract?" Caius asked us. "What the FUCK are you talking about?" I yelled at him, pointing my Gunblade directly at his heart. "Ask him. Anyway, I've got to run. Happy trails." He replied, disappearing in a black mist around his feet. I dropped my Gunblade, it not disappearing like how Dark's does, and went to his side. "Dark! I need you to wake up!" I yelled at him, trying to shake him awake through the armor. His eyes slowly opened, only to close immediately. "No Dark! I have never lost a Soldier in my days of combat, and I'm NOT going to FUCKING start now!" I yelled at him. I pulled at his breastplate, knowing that I had to check his heart, but also would find out what he was hiding. Because it wouldn't come off as easily as I had hoped, I stood up, and used my Eidolith crystal to summon Odin's blades. "Sorry Dark, but I have no choice." I said to him. I quickly made a large slice in the sides of his breastplate, enabling me to get it off. I dropped the large, curved blades, and knelt back down, and yanked off the breastplate front, to see red cloth covering up the top part of his chest. "I don't have time for this!" I yelled, yanking back the cloth, to show something that shocked me.


	3. Party, 1 plus

**A.N. This took me just a bit longer than the others. And no games in this chapter. So, please note the usual: **"This is speech" *This is thought*

* * *

**Dark's P.O.V.**

I opened my eyes to see a night sky, and the warm glow of a fire. I started to sit up, and felt no extra weight on my chest, where my breastplate was, so I immediately looked down and panicked. "Dark!" I heard from my side and felt a hug, and remembered what I had done earlier. "Lightning, I..." I started saying, feeling the familiar cloth covering my face. *Whew. At least that's still a secret.* I thought to myself. "I'm sorry, I thought I had lost you. You don't need to say anything. I had to cut off the thing covering it up." She explained, sobbing in between. I looked over to see that the breastplate that I used to wear was laying against a rock, in two pieces. "Your heart stopped. That';s why I had to cut it off. When I pulled it off to try CPR, I saw the brand. You're a Pulse l'Cie." She said. I put my right hand up to the back of her head, and rubbed her back with the other hand, comforting her. "So, now you know." I said to her. "Yes. I also understand what you're going through. Luckily, you have time to complete your Focus, whatever it is." She said, covering up my brand with her hand. I moved my left hand to above my right peck, where her hand was, and gently lifted it off. "I need to take Caius's ultimate attack. That is my Focus." I told her. She threw both of her arms around my neck, trapping me in a large hug, which I gladly returned. "The life of a l'Cie is hard." I told her. "Yeah, it is. But I can help." She said.

* * *

We left for the ship the next morning. I decided to strip off all of my armor except for my gauntlets and my boots and their guards. I was left in the various sashes that were bound together around my crotch, and the cloth that was acting as pants. I straightened out the red sash where I had covered up my brand, enabling me to walk without people staring at it. "Dark, why aren't you wearing your armor?" Lightning asked. "I don't need it anymore." I said. "What?" She asked me. "If you are able to accept the fact that I'm cursed, then I don't give a damn about the others. I only need the trust of my friends." I told her. She smiled, then put her Gunblade back in its holster, having stayed out the entire night. We made the short walk back to the village in no time, where we were met by a large bodied guy, with a small, studded ball under his left arm, a Blitzball, if I remember correctly. Under the other arm was something red, and folded over.

"Hello, Dark. I heard about what you did to that golem from Tidus yesterday. My name is Wakka, and I'd like to thank you by giving you this." The man said, holding out the package under his right arm. I took it, and saw that it was a large red overcoat, with black pants underneath it. "It was our friend Auron's. I think that he'd like you to have it, for helping protect the Grand Summoner's kids." Wakka said as I put the coat on, carefully, not wanting to show off my brand. I buttoned it up to about two buttons from my collarbone, my red sash covering up the rest. "A perfect fit." I said, then noticing the belts around the waist, pulling those closed. "Yeah, there was another part of it, but it somehow managed to get separated. Anyway, why are you wearing that cloth over your face, Brudda?" Wakka asked. "I need my identity to remain a secret. But thank you, for the clothes. I'll do my best to keep them in good repair." I told him. "Don't. They're yours now. Well, good luck on your travels!" He said, running off to another tent.

* * *

"Ah, good. It seems as if you've actually returned to us." Balthier said as soon as we got back to the airship. "We ran into a bit of trouble." I said, crossing my arms. "I can guess that the kind of trouble involved the destruction of armor." He said, pointing at the new coat I was wearing. "We ran into Caius. Dark took an attack meant for me. That's why we came back so late." Lightning explained. "We told you." Fran said to us, walking back into the ship. Balthier said nothing and followed her. Lightning and I entered the ship, and immediately went to our rooms. Once I got into mine, I hesitated for a moment before locking my door. "Fran and Balthier still can't know of my condition." I said to myself.

**Light's P.O.V.**

I slid into my hammock, resting my Gunblade up beside the wall. I stared up at my ceiling, and dived into my thoughts again. *I knew that he was a l'Cie. I just hadn't expected the God that branded him be a Pulsian. Now I know exactly what he was going through.* I thought to myself. I stroked my scar again, then thought, *But, if he was branded, then who was the God that branded him? And how does he know his Focus already? This mystery is getting stranger and stranger by the minute. Oh well, at least he has good abs-* I immediately halted my thoughts after that last one. Why was I thinking about THAT in a time like this? I liked Dark, but as a good fighter, and a good Samaritan. *Or, do I like him more?...* I thought again. "No. He's a friend. Nothing more, and nothing less." I said to myself. I twisted my body around in the hammock, enabling me to lay on my side, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up, I saw what face Dark showed to the world. I immediately jumped back, startled, before he placed his hand on my shoulder, saying "Woah, girl! I didn't mean to scare you." "How did you get in? I'm a very light sleeper." I told him, sitting up in my hammock. "Well, by the way you were sleeping when I walked in here, I highly doubt that. You were in the fetal position, and I think that I actually saw you smile. I've been waiting here for about eleven minutes." He said to me, sitting back down on the stool he brought in. "Okay, that's not creepy at all. Anyway, why are you in here? I thought that you liked the privacy of your own room." I asked him. "I actually came to tell you about our next stop, which, according to Balthier, will take us the entire night for travel." He replied. "Okay, what do you need to tell me?" I asked him, crossing my legs. "The thing that we are looking for in Edge is a man. If I recall, he has large, spiky hair. He should be in one of two places: The 7th Heaven, a bar opened by a woman by the name of Tifa Lockhart, but I think that she changed her name to Tifa Strife a long time ago. The other place is the Aeris Gainsborough Memorial Church." He said, crossing his arms. "Who the hell are we trying to find?" I asked him. Dark looked at me with is pale, gray eyes, and said, "A great SOLDIER."

* * *

We made it there as fast as we could, but it was still relatively dark outside when we landed. Dark and I left the ship, again, and this time, we stopped to see a massive sculpture at the middle of town. "Intriguing." Dark said. "What is it?" I asked him. "It looks like a giant meteor, being pushed back by an unknown force." He said. "We should find 7th Heaven, wherever that is." I told him, pulling him away from the sculpture, which had a scorch mark on it, barely visible. "I don't know why you're freaking out, It's right over there." He said, pointing out the bar, which apparently had a lot of business now. We started walking when we were stopped by a man, hunched over, and wearing a large brown hood over his face.

"I heard you kids are looking for 7th Heaven. I have a hunch you're looking for Cloud." The old man said. "Yeah. You know of him?" Dark asked him. The old man chuckled, then said, "I know him better than anyone. My name's Zack. I'll aid you in getting to Cloud." He then started going in the direction of the bar we were already going to. "Wait, we're seriously going to try to recruit Cloud Strife?" I asked Dark as we were walking behind Zack. "Yes. Why are you so worried?" He asked me. "Well, you have to realize that the guy has to be about sixty years old by now." I told him. "Yes, but he may be more proficient in healing by now. Look, I know what I'm doing, so trust me." He responded, stopping both him and myself. I looked forward to see that Zack had brought us behind 7th Heaven.

"Umm, Zack?" I asked the old man. "Don't worry. This is how to get to Cloud." He responded, knocking three times. The door opened to an aged woman, with a few gray sections in her long, black hair, wearing a leather outfit, and who had brown eyes. She looked at the old man, who said, "Hello, Tifa. These kids need to see Cloud." She looked at him for a second, then at us, then back at him, and then finally said, "Okay. You come in first, kids, and I'll get you something to drink. Now, your friend, on the other hand, can go up to his room, because I'm sure he needs his rest." Dark and I nodded, then followed the old man inside, then moved to where the main bar section of the building was. As soon as we sat ourselves at a table, we were brought a couple of sodas. "Thank you, Mrs. Strife." Dark said as soon as she brought them. "You're welcome. Please, call me Tifa. I'll go check on my husband to see if he'll be able to see you kids." She replied to him, walking away from us and to the same door that Zack had went when we got here. "Something's strange. Why did she give us a soda while everyone else gets alcohol? We're both well over the age." I asked Dark, crossing my arms over my chest as I was waiting for an answer. He closed his eyes, and put his hand to what I believe was his chin, and then said, "I think that it was to prepare us for when we meet Cloud. After all, you don't meet someone you don't know completely drunk off of your ass. It isn't very proper, nor polite." He immediately dropped his hand from his chin, and then moved to grab the glass.

I watched him, carefully, trying to see who he was when he moved his cloth over his face. He started to raise the glass, but then stopped, putting the glass down, and plucking a straw from the cup holding them at the middle of the table, and placed it in his drink. He then moved the whole thing up closer to his face, enabling him to drink his soda while under the concealment of his cloth. I silently cursed in my head, and reluctantly took a sip from my own drink. *Hm. She brought me a diet soda. That's strange." I thought to myself, wishing that there would be more caffeine in the drink. After an hour of watching the drunks fall out, and our drinks go down in volume, Tifa finally came back to us, and said, "Alright, now we can go back." We both stood up, and followed her as she led us along. "I'm sorry for the wait, but you have to understand, Cloud has as many enemies as he does friends. At least, how many are still alive." She explained as we started walking up some stairs. "What happened?" I asked her. "Time. Time happened to most of our friends. Only Vincent and Yuffie are alive nowadays. Well, Barret's daughter is still around, but she mainly hangs around the Church." Tifa explained, turning a corner at the top of the stairs. She walked up to a door, where we stopped, and she instructed us to go in. When we did, we were met with a surprise.

**Dark's P.O.V.**

"Zack?" I asked when we got into the room. The old man still had his hood up, and was sitting on the bed, polishing a part for a Fusion Sword. He put the sword horizontal across his lap, and put the rag on top of that, freeing both of his hands up. He moved them to the edges of the hood, and pulled it back, revealing a very light blond set of spiky hair, which was almost completely gray, but the bright blue eyes of the Mako energy he was subjected to years ago. "Cloud?" I asked, unsure as to whether or not it was him. "Yeah. I'm him. Why are you two looking for me?" He asked, continuing his polishing. "We're trying to kill Caius, before he destroys the world." Lightning told him. He immediately stopped polishing his blade, and slowly looked at us. "What?" He asked, in shock. "We thought that we could use your help. I've heard about what you did to Sephiroth, and I think that we could use your assistance." I told him. He looked around his room, in thought, then looked back at us, and said, "Fine. I'll go. But we'll need one of my friends to help." "I thought that every one of your friends except for Vincent and Yuffie have died." Lightning asked. "That's all of my old friends. For a while, I was in another world, fighting alongside a bunch of other people for a God. Cosmos was her name. I remember this one guy, I think he's still alive." Cloud explained. "Who is this guy?" I asked him. "Squall Leonhart. He wields a Gunblade." Cloud said.


	4. Confessions

**Dark's P.O.V**

Cloud, Lightning and I left Edge when the sun came up. Cloud did, however, make sure to tell Tifa what was going on, and assured her that we would bring him back, either with his sword, or on it. Upon hearing this, Tifa nodded, and sent us on our way. We went back to the Airship, which had just finished refueling, when Balthier stopped us from entering the ship. "He wasn't part of the deal." Balthier said to me. "An extra million gil for each additional passenger, payout being when we kill Caius." I responded to him, brushing past him. We went to the cockpit, Balthier and Lightning taking their normal seats, Cloud taking mine, when Fran asked us where we were to go next. I looked at Cloud, who told her, "We need to head to Balamb. The other guy we're looking for is there."

I went back to my room as soon as I saw that we were in the air. I closed the door and was about to sit on my hammock, when I remembered that I hadn't locked my door yet. I flipped the lock on it, and fell onto the hammock. I stared up at the ceiling, and simply dived into my thoughts. *Squall Leonhart. The only other man in the world that can use the Gunblade like I do. The only difference is that he uses it in the way I use it with the Safety on. Why is that? Is his model the older version, with no barrel in the blade? Whoever he is, I need to keep my Gunblade on par with him. I need to anticipate his every move. Most importantly, I need to keep him from going at me alone.* I thought. I then turned my body, enabling me to fall asleep in the hammock.

**Light's P.O.V.**

I was hanging around my room when I heard a knock on my door. I walked over to it, Gunblade in hand, and unlocked the door. I opened it slightly, and thrust the Gunblade's barrel into whoever's face it was. "Whoa! Is this how you treat people who knock on your door?" I heard Cloud from the other side of the door. I pulled back my Gunblade, and opened the door the rest of the way. Cloud stood in the hallway, his hair spikes just barely brushing past the top of the hallway. "What do you want?" I asked him. "Can I come in?" He asked me, countering my question. I moved to just by the door frame on the inside, enabling Cloud to get into the small room. As soon as I closed my door, he asked me, "Okay, what is the deal with the guy with the mask? Why is he hiding his face?"He asked me. "Dark wants to keep his identity hidden for a while. He's told me that when the time is right, he'll reveal his face." I explained. "Ah. Well, why is he even trying to kill Caius? Doesn't he know that its a suicide mission?" He asked me. "Well...He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't..." I explained, trying to come up with an excuse without giving away the fact that Dark was a l'Cie. "Ah. I completely get that. Well, I'll be off in my own cabin." He said, walking towards the door. I let him out, then locked the door again.

I fell onto my hammock, by body having all of its stress released upon doing this. I laid my hand over my scar again, something that I've been doing a hell of a lot recently. *Well, it looks like Cloud has been trying to peel answers from Dark. That's about as effective as using a water squirter on a forest fire.* I thought, laughing slightly at the last part, the image forming in my head. *Still, it is fun to be able to get Dark alone and strangle the information out of him. But still, sometimes, some secrets should be respected as just secrets. I guess...* I stopped my thoughts, frowning, but then accepting, *Maybe...that's why I like him so much. He lets me have my secrets, as long as I let him have his.* I thought. I turned in the hammock to face the wall, and proceeded to fall asleep.

* * *

I awoke to see Dark's face yet again. This time, however, he shook me awake, so I tackled him and put my combat knife up to his throat. When I realized who it was, I pulled the knife away from his throat. "Sorry. It's a force of habit." I told him, putting the knife back into my boot. He slid out from under me, his cloth over his face _still_ not having moved an inch. "Good to know. Look, we're about to enter Balamb soon, so I was just trying to get you up." He told me. I nodded, then realized something. My door had been locked while I was in here. "How in the name of the Gods did you get through my fucking lock?" I asked him. He chuckled, and said, "I am a master lockpick. I need to be, due to what I'm screwed with." I looked back to where his right peck would be, and remembered what his dilemma was. "Lightning? My eyes are up here." He said, pointing to his face. I smiled, then slapped him in the back of the head.

His hand went to the back of his neck after my hand left it, and our hands briefly touched. I felt the energy flowing throughout his hand, and its warmth. "Sorry!" We both said, drawing our hands directly to our respective bodies. I got off of him, and he raised one of his knees up, and actually started rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, that was awkward. But, at least I know now how to make you blush." He said. I took a moment, and realized that I was in fact, blushing. I looked at his face, and saw two tiny red areas at the top section of his cloth over his face. "I guess that I know how to make you blush too." I said, pointing it out. His eyes widened, then he tried pulling up his mask a tiny bit more, to try to cover his blushing up. I laughed a little, then looked back to him. "I don't believe I've thanked you." He said. "Thanked me for what?" I asked him. "For saving me in Besaid. If you hadn't removed my armor to make sure that my heart was in trouble, I don't think that I could have made it." He said. "Oh! That, well, I don't need to be thanked." I said, being modest. "No, you do, and I have the perfect way. Close your eyes." He said to me. *What the hell? He knows very well that if he tries anything I say no to, I'll kill him.* I thought. I slowly closed my eyes, and I waited. It was only for a moment that I had to wait, for a pressure to come upon my lips.

The pressure of his lips upon mine was for a moment, but it seemed as if time had stopped. I was paralyzed, unable to move. After he pulled away, it took every bit of strength I had to pry my eyes open. I managed to open them about three seconds after he pulled away, and by that time, he was rebuttoning the cloth over his face, the button being near his ear. *Dammit! If only I could have opened my eyes sooner!* I thought. "T..Thank you." I said, all of the blood rushing to my cheeks. "You're welcome." He replied, "Perhaps we can do that again, since you liked that a lot." "Y-Yeah. We should do that again. As soon as possible." I said before realizing exactly what I had said. He chuckled, then said, "As you wish." He then walked out of my room, shutting the door, locking it from the outside after him.

* * *

When we entered the city, Cloud took lead. I didn't mind, and apparently, neither did Dark. Cloud took us up and down streets, halfway across town, and to the exact same fountain fifteen times. "I think that the old man is lost." I said to Dark's ear. "He knows the way to go. I hope." He replied to me. We had gotten to a large orphanage when Cloud stopped abruptly. "What the hell?" I asked him. "We're here." Cloud replied. He went inside, with both of us following. We met a girl at the front desk, whom we could tell was Squall's wife by the fact that her nametag read "Mrs. R. Leonhart." "Hey, Rinoa. We need to see Squall." Cloud said to the woman. "Okay. Are you here for an adoption?" She asked him. "No, we need assisstance. Tell him that it's from an old ally, who took down a God with him..." Cloud said to her. She looked up from her computer, then said, "OH! I'll get him right away!" She instantly got up and ran from the desk to a back room. I looked at Dark, who also looked at me, and shrugged. Rinoa came back and said, "This way! Squall's waiting!" We followed suit, walking all the way to the back room. Once we got in, Rinoa ran off somewhere in the large room, and we looked to see a large seat, upon which was a man, about as old as Cloud, with a Gunblade similar to Dark's beside it. "Cloud." The man said. "Squall." Cloud responded. He then walked over to the corner, probably to wait and let us speak out our cause. Dark stepped forward, and Squall grabbed the Gunblade.

**Dark's P.O.V.**

I watched as Squall pulled his Gunblade from the side of his throne, and rushed towards us. Lightning was just staring at him, frozen in shock, so I had to push her away. I summoned my Gunblade, and immediately blocked his slash. I heard a rip, and saw that the bandages around my Gunblade were starting to come off. I sent a kick out to Squall, who caught it in his gut. He was instantly pushed back a few feet, but then he rushed me again, so I countered his slash with my own slash, our blades locked together in a standoff of strength. "Safety ON!" I yelled, flipping the switch on my Gunblade, and then I pulled the trigger. The blade sent his back again, which gave me enough time and room to perform another slash, which he effortlessly dodged. I was about to do another charge and slash, with Squall obviously thinking of the same thing, when two orbs of light hit right in front of us. Both he and I looked to the producer, when we saw a girl with green hair, a red leotard and sashes, and small heeled boots.

"Stop it! Stop all of this fighting!" She yelled at us. I lowered my Gublade, then looked at Squall, who nodded and lowered his Gunblade as well. "We're sorry, Terra." Squall said to her. Terra nodded, then walked over to Lightning, who was watching us fight. "Are you okay?" Terra asked her. "Yeah. I'm fine." She said. Terra looked at Squall, who looked at me, and said, "Sorry about pulling my Gunblade on you two. I just thought by your clothes that some Minions of Chaos were trying to assassinate me." I shrugged, then heard something fall to the floor. I looked down to see that my Gunblade had completely lost its bandages. I looked at the symbol that it was covering up, and looked at the full image of the l'Cie brand. "A...l'Cie?" Squall asked. I heard Cloud shift, as if hearing this news was extremely shocking. I let the chain that had been in the handle drop out, which also had a l'Cie brand on it. "Yeah. I'm a l'Cie. And my Focus is to take Caius Ballad's ultimate attack. I can't do it alone. I need the help of strong people. That's why I searched for you all. You all can help me in my quest. Will you join?" I asked them. Terra raised her hand, which made Squall say, "Terra Branford, you are not going on this suicide mission!" "Terra Branford? As in THE Terra Branford? I thought that you would be an elderly woman by now." I asked her. She giggled, then said, "I did too. However, my Esper Blood has kept me in the image of a young woman for a long time. That's actually why I live here now, since people have often tried to take advantage of me. Well, that, and the fact that this place has so many cute moogles!" Terra explained. "Well, we could use you as a healer on our team." I said to her. "Alright. I'm in as well." Squall said to me. "Thank you all." I said to them.


	5. Growth

**A.N. This chapter will have a more darker side of it. Note: **"This is regular speech" *This is thought* This is dream sequence/dream conversation _This is to emphasize something in the text_

* * *

**Dark's P.O.V.**

I led the party back to the airship, after Terra was done fluffing the Moogle's pompoms at the orphanage, that is. Upon getting to the airship, I produced a few chips of Gil that represented a million, and said, "Just shut up and drive." and threw them in Balthier's direction. I watched as he caught the chips, then ran off into the cockpit. I turned to Cloud and said, "We need to start looking for Caius. We'll head to Alexandria first." "What? We're going to ask the monkey kid?" He asked me. "Something like that. I'll be in my room." I told him. I then proceeded to walk away from where he was and entered the sanctity of my room. I left the lock at half closed, where no one could tell if I had locked it or not. I laid back on my hammock, and dived into my thoughts. *Well, now that the party has been formed, it is time for the Fellowship to find their quarry. I must keep myself at full fighting capacity. I can't let my guard down, until the Focus has been completed. This is going to be tough, especially since...* I thought to myself while I reclined. After a few minutes, I fell asleep.

* * *

I looked around to see the others that I travel with. Balthier, Fran, Cloud, Terra, Squall.

Lightning...

They all looked at me from large white pillars, and when I tried to approach them, I noticed something terribly wrong. Balthier's face was swollen, and he was holding his chest, directly over his heart. Fran was holding on to her arm, as if it were broken, and looked as if she was about to double over from the pain. Squall had his normal sour look on him, but I saw that the collar of his coat had been stained with something Red. Terra looked as if she had suffered an all consuming burn. Cloud looked the same, except for the fact that all of his Fusion Swords that he had brought were sheathed in his stomach. They were actually propping him up, like a bicycle kickstand. Of course, then I saw what had happened to Lightning.

Her vest had been ripped in multiple places, starting to show off her bra, which miraculously was unscathed. Her jeans were nothing more than floss for her ass, her underwear acting as replacement pants for her. Her boots had sections missing from them, and I could not see where her Gunblade holster was. I looked over her heart, and saw a small hole in the center, in front of her heart, where blood was slowly seeping out. "No... No..." I said to myself, backing away from the pillars. 

"What's the matter? Afraid of what will happen to your friends once I kill you?" I heard boasted from behind me. I knew who it was already, but I had to make sure. I turned, and indeed saw Caius Ballad, smirking at me. "What did you do to them? Don't fucking lie!" I demanded. "Why, isn't it obvious? After you died, I killed them as well. Spike-haired guy first, then the lady with the green hair and magic. Then the guy with fur, and then your pilots. Once they were all dead, and I had made sure that the bitch known as 'Lightning' knows that no one opposes me." He gloated. "SHUT UP!" I yelled trying to get my Gunblade to summon, but see the sparks fizzle out as quickly as they appeared. Caius laughed at this, and said, "What's the matter? Scared of the truth? If you take my Ultimate Attack, then you'll die. There is no other excuse for it. You won't be saved by your precious Crystal Stasis, and I don't think that you want to be a Cie'th. Terrible life, that is. So, come to me, alone, and I will end your suffering, and I won't harm them. I promise." Caius started walking away, but then turned back and said, "Oh, and enjoy the rest of your nightmare."

As soon as he left, I heard groaning from behind me. I turned to see my former friends shuffling towards me. I ran over to Cloud, and pulled out one of his smaller Fusion Swords, holding it to try and keep them from coming closer. "Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!" I yelled to them. I walked back as they were shuffling towards me, until I bumped into something. I turned to see Lightning, who said, "You killed us. You will now suffer." She then attacked me, knocking the sword from my hands. I managed to keep her a few inches from my face, which she was trying to bite at, and I tried to reach for the blade. I almost had my hand on it when I felt Terra's hands clamp around my wrist, and her mouth starting to go to the skin in between. I could feel her ripping the flesh from my body, which caused me to both scream, and lose my control over Lightning, who sunk her teeth into my neck...

* * *

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" I yelled, snapping awake, summoning my Gunblade, and stabbing it through the nearest thing, pulling the trigger until I kept hearing the hammer click. "DARK!" I heard from my side, and when I turned my head, I felt a slap come across my face. I looked at who it was that slapped me, afterwards, to see Lightning, perfectly normal and alive, but with a concerned look in her eyes. "Dark, what the hell is wrong with you?" She asked me, staring into my eyes. I felt my eyes water, and I quickly pulled her close, making sure that she didn't see me cry. "Thank the Gods you're safe, Lightning." I said to her. She slowly moved her hands to my back, and held me in the hug that had formed. "Dark, what happened?" She asked me, being concerned. I pulled myself away from beside her shoulder, and started to tell what happened.

**Light's P.O.V.**

"It was Caius." Dark told me, "He created a parallel dimension upon which my subconscious mind was forced to enter. I had a terrible nightmare, where I saw all of our...friends...murdered. You were amongst them. After Caius basically told me to come to him to die with dignity, he had your corpses...eat me. Terra dug into my wrist, then you started munching on my neck." "Oh, shit." I replied to him, pulling him back into another hug, our ears bumping together. I held onto him for a while, and I believe that I heard him cry. I started rubbing his back, trying to calm him down, when he started to break down more. "It's alright, Dark. I'm fine. The group's fine. You just had a bad dream." I told him. I felt my shoulder get colder and wetter, his tears finally going through my vest and bra strap. I ignored the feeling, and kept rubbing his back, the both of us sitting down onto the hammock in his room.

"I...I don't know if I want to take Caius up on his offer or not. If it will keep all of you alive, then..." He started to say, before I slapped him upside the back of his head. "No way. I'm not gonna lose you that easily. You are going to stay alive as long as you can, then take that Ultimate Attack, then rebound and kick his ass with all of your strength. I don't want to hear any more fucking bitching about how you just want to help us. We came with you of our own choosing. You don't need to feel ashamed of it. We are going to stick by your side until the very end. And you don't get one fucking word against it." I sternly told him. I heard him chuckle, then he said, "I thought that you might have said that. Thanks, Lightning."

"Claire." I told him. "What?" He responded. "My real name is Claire. I changed it to Lightning when Serah and I lost our parents, and I joined the army. I was trying to not show weakness." I explained. "Huh. Claire. That's got a nice ring to it." He said. "It's just a name!" I said, pulling away from him and giving him a playful slap on his chest region, over where his brand was. He took this, and did nothing back. "What, afraid that I'll get hurt by your next hit?" I taunted him. "No, it's not that. I don't hit girls. It's my personal rule." He replied. I started laughing, then ruffled his short, messy black hair. "Well, that's good to know. Anyway, let's get up to the cockpit. We're almost to Alexandria." I told him, standing up and going over to the Gunblade stuck in the wall. Dark came up behind me and pulled the Gunblade from its holster that had just been made. He pulled out the empty shell casings in his sword, then replaced them with new ones. "Well, let's go." He said, sending his Gunblade away.

* * *

"Well, we're almost at Alexandria. What are we looking for anyway?" Balthier asked Dark. "Information on any weaknesses that Caius may have. If we're going up against him, then I suppose that we should try to find anything helpful." Dark explained. "Ah. Well, I don't know about that, but you could try to look in the castle. I heard that there's a man with a tail that knows everything." Balthier replied. "A tail? He sounds like he would look funny!" Terra said from behind Balthier, in what was once Dark's seat. "Trust me. Zidane doesn't look funny. But you should still watch your back." Squall told Terra. "What kind of name is 'Zidane'?" She asked him. "That's the guy with the tail's name. Zidane Tribal." Squall replied. "Oh. Do you think he has any moogles around him?" She asked. "I'm not sure." Squall replied.

* * *

We managed to get to the castle with relative ease, where we heard no sounds. We walked in, and the main lobby held a large table, littered to the brim with treasures. I proceeded to walk around the table, looking at the large bounty, when Dark said to all of us, "Don't touch anything in here unless you've brought it with you, or it's been handed to you." I nodded to him, and continued to look. "MOOGLE!" I heard Terra exclaim. I turned to her to see her running to a large moogle within a glass case. "No! Terra, don't!" I yelled at her, starting to run to her to try to cut her off, when Dark came up to her in a flash and pulled her away. "No, it's all booby trapped." He told her once he pulled her to a safe distance away. "Even the Moogle?" She asked. "Yes. The Moogle too." He told her. She frowned, and her face turned to that of a sour one, one that I would have never expected from her.

"Wow. Seriously? I thought that I had made sure that she wouldn't be able to resist the Moogle, just by having its Pompom exposed." I heard from behind me. I turned, my Gunblade in sword mode, and saw a Teenager, with blonde hair, and a long, slender, blonde furred tail. "Zidane! I can't believe that's you." Squall said to him. "Squall? Awesome! Hey, have you seen Bartz? The guy owes me, since I beat him in our competition for treasure." Zidane asked him. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him. Anyway, we need your help." Squall replied to him. "Okay, what do you need?" Zidane asked us, taking a seat at the table, knocking over some of the treasures to rest his feet upon the table. "We need any and all information about Caius Ballad that you have." Dark asked him, sitting down near him, attempting to see him over the treasures. Zidane nearly fell out of his seat as soon as he heard the nature of our quest, and asked us, "Caius Ballad? Are you guys crazy? The guy's invincible! No weaknesses, all resistances to every kind of Magic, and have you _seen _what he does to people who oppose him?" Zidane asked him. "Yes. Yes I have. And that's another reason that I have to kill him. That, and this." Dark said, unzipping the coat that he was wearing, and moved the cloth over his brand, showing all of us it, but also showing me that it had gotten bigger. The eye on it was opening, and it was happening fast. He was running out of time.

"Oh, I see now. The last I heard, he traveled from Besaid Village to Tycoon. After that, I don't know." He said to us. Dark fixed his outfit to the way it was, and replied, "Thank you, Zidane." As we were leaving, I pulled Dark aside, and slammed him against the wall. "What the hell-?" He started to ask me, but I stopped him. "Shut up! Why didn't you tell me that it grew?!" I demanded to know. "Wait, grew?" He asked me. "Yes, dumbass! The brand grows after a while! When the eye on it opens completely, then you turn into a Cie'th. Now, why didn't you tell me it grew!?" I asked him. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..." He said to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. I loosened my grip on his coat, and fell into his arms, not caring about anything. "Don't do this to me. I'm going to get you to kill Caius, even if that means I have to drag your big, monstery ass all the way to him." I said to him. Dark chuckled, and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way." I looked up at him, and I think I could feel his smile through his cloth. Which was in the exact same position as it was yesterday. With no fucking changes whatsoever.


	6. Activation

**A.N. Okay, this is me trying out a new writing style. I hope you guys like it. Anyway, you know the drill. **"This is speech" *This is Thought* **Also, this entire chapter is Lightning's P.O.V. So no questions about it.**

* * *

I walked back with Dark to the Airship, everyone else having beat us. "Well, did you guys get what you needed?" Balthier asked us when we got back.

"Yeah. Tell Fran to head to Tycoon. We're going to chase him from there." Dark said. He then started walking off in the direction of his room. I tried to follow him, but Squall stopped me.

"Hey, Do you think we could Spar sometime? I think that we should be ready for anything that Caius may have in store for us, so I wanted to try and prepare for anything and everything." He asked me. I scoffed, pulled out my Gunblade in Gun mode, and pointed it to his nose. "I get it. Another time then." He said, walking away. I lowered my weapon, but kept it out. I ran down the corridor, trying to get to Dark as fast as possible. As soon as I got to his door though, it was closed, and most likely locked.

*Dammit. I need to talk to him, and try to figure out when the brand grew. That way, we can at least try to establish a time limit that he has.* I thought to myself, before I heard some tiny tappings. I looked to my left, then my right, then down, to see that it was water hitting the ground. I raised my hand to my face, and I could feel the wetness from my tear trail.

"What?" I silently asked myself. *Why am I crying? Why do I feel the need to cry? This is too strange. I need to get into my room, fast.* I thought, dashing away from his room and into mine. As soon as the door locked behind me, I collapsed against it, my back to the door, my Gunblade being dropped on the floor. I put my head in my hands and started to cry silently, so that no one would ever know. After a while, I heard a strange noise between my silent sobs. I looked around to see nothing but a purple sash, out of place in the room. Knowing who left the sash, I quickly got out of my room and ran. After a while, I stopped, confident that I had gotten away from my room. I looked at my hand to see that my Gunblade was not in it, nor was it in my holster. *Great, now I'll have to go back. But not right away.* I thought. I exhaled, then looked up, and saw a sign. I moved to better see the sign to see the writing on it say "Ladies showers." *Good. Something to take my mind off this whole thing.* I thought to myself, grabbing a towel that was inside.

* * *

I stepped into the shower, and turned the water on, not needing for it to adjust to the right temperature, since it already was at warm. I let the millions of droplets hit my body, buffeting the dirt and grime that had manifested on my body. I started running my fingers into my hair, my elbows covering up the front of my breasts. *Ah... This is extremely soothing...* I thought as I started washing my stomach. After a while, I noticed the condensation on the pane of glass that separated me from the bench that held both my towel and all of my clothes. *Why does Dark keep so much bottled up? Why, does he not tell me what's happening to him, when I've gone through the same?* I thought, moving both of my hands to the glass, resting them both on the smooth, wet surface.

After toweling off and putting my clothes back on, I walked back to my room, stopping outside of my door. I sighed, and thought, *So, how am I going to get it out?* I opened the door wide enough for my arm to go in, and I slid it in. I started fumbling around for a few seconds before I felt the trigger of my Gunblade. I reached over to the handle and quickly grabbed it, and pulled it out of my room, before slamming the door back into its normal closed position. "Yes!" I said to myself, putting my Gunblade back into the holster, and proceeded to walk down to the cockpit. Upon getting there, I sat down behind Fran, who looked at me and said, "We'll be landing in Tycoon soon. Better strap in."

"Alright." I said to her, putting the lock on on the seat that I was sitting in.

* * *

After landing in Tycoon, we went to the castle, which had a massive statue of a man with a red blade in his hand. "Well, at least we know what happened to Bartz." Squall said out loud. We all walked around to different parts of town, trying to figure out where Caius may be. I got a few leads, but after remembering that the places that they told me were long destroyed, I ignored them. I went back to Rendezvous with the others, when Dark accidentally bumped into me.

"Sorry." He said.

"It's alright." I said,, standing back up.

"So, have to heard anything about Caius?" He asked.

"Lots, but nothing useful." I said.

"Ah. I haven't heard anything either." He said, just as Cloud came back. "Cloud. Have you found any information?" Dark asked him.

"Nope." He responded.

"Damn. We're getting nowhere fast." I said, crossing my arms. Terra came back, with her head down, and said, "I'm sorry. I had no leads. Maybe Squall has something."

I walked over to her, put my arm around her, and said, "It's alright, Terra. We'll get something by the end of the day."

Around that time, Squall came running up to us, and said, "Guys! Caius is at the top of the castle. Hurry!" I burst out in a sprint towards the building, followed by Dark, Squall, Cloud, and Terra.

We quickly scaled the wall of the castle and got to the top, where Caius was busy observing the town. "Caius! Prepare to die!" Dark yelled out.

Caius turned, and said, "Well, I thought that you would have heeded my warning, but it seems that it isn't the case. No need then, it is you who shall die." He summoned his wicked blade, and pointed it at me. Dark thrust himself between me and the sword, and held up his Gunblade against Caius. Cloud fell in beside me, his Fusion Sword having two other pieces onto it. Squall ran up beside him, and moved his Gunblade onto his shoulder. Terra walked over to beside me, and I could feel the magic flowing through her veins. Caius laughed, and said, "A ragtag group focused on killing me. Well guess what kiddies! I'M IMMORTAL!"

"That still doesn't mean we won't beat the shit out of you." Cloud said.

"Amen to that." Squall said in agreement.

"Well then, it seems that you have all chosen your fates." Caius said to us.

He started off with a backward swing, which Terra stopped with her Tornado spell. I fired a barrage of bullets at him, while Cloud and Squall moved to cut him in an "X" fashion. I then saw Dark drag his Gunblade along the ground, cutting through the stone, and raised it once he got to Caius, cleaving him through the stomach. As soon as we all got back together, we took another look at Caius, who appeared not to have a single scratch on him. "My turn." He said to us, raising his sword above his head. As he was bringing it down, an arrow hit his sword hand, we all looked over to see who had fired the thing, to see Fran with a massive, curved bow with half circles at the end of the strings. Balthier walked up beside her, a large gun in his hands, and asked, "Did we miss anything?"

"About damn time you guys show up!" Dark said to them as they jumped down and ran over to us.

"Yes, well we did have to park the airship. Either way, we're here now." Balthier said to him, raising his gun. We all nodded to each other, then looked back at Caius.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got Gods and Goddesses to kill. Goodbye!" He said, jumping off of the building, and disappearing into a smoke cloud. I went over to the edge to see him traveling in a northern direction.

`"Come on, everyone! We need to follow him." Fran yelled out to us, jumping off of the southern side of the castle's top. A few seconds after that, the Airship began to rise. We all hopped in, Balthier going first to help us all in, and then he closed the door, making the entire ship pressurized. We all ran into the cockpit, where Fran yelled, "He's going to head to the Town of Baron! We need to go now!" We all nodded, then strapped in.

* * *

We followed him to The Town of Baron, where he quickly flew off into another direction after decimating the town. We followed him across multiple fields that Chocobos roamed, until we got to another place, the Castle Sasune, where he blew a massive hole in the side of it. We quickly stopped here, refueling for a bit, and started on again, going towards the thin smoke trails that he was leaving behind. The next decimated place was the Town of Altair, where there was a large crater where the town once stood. "Shit." Cloud said, before getting a slap from Terra.

"You know I don't like that language!" She said to him.

"Sorry." He said, putting his swords together.

"Everyone, Shut up. I need to concentrate." Fran said, moving us to follow the last few wisps of the smoke trail, until we eventually lost it. "Shit. Well, anybody got a bright idea?" Fran asked us. I looked around to everyone, but the only one who looked like he had an idea in his head was Dark.

"Fran, can you do a scan around the area to see what towns are here?" He asked her. Fran flipped a few switches and waited for a second.

"One. The City of Cornelia. Everybody strap in." She said to us, headed in the direction for the aging city. We stopped down beside the exterior wall of the city, and we all proceeded to get out of the airship. We walked all around town, traveling as a group this time, and heard that the only people who could tell us where Caius may be was the King and his daughter, but then they told us of how the daughter had just been kidnapped. We left the town to go into the castle, where we were asked by the king to travel to the Chaos Shrine, where the Princess was being held. "Sure, We'll do it." Dark assured the man.

"Oh, thank the Crystals! Please bring me back my daughter safe!" Begged the King. We all nodded, then left. We hopped back into the airship, where we went north of the city, where the Chaos Shrine existed. As soon as we found enough room on the flat ground, we jumped out of the airship, and started to go in before Dark stopped us all. He turned to us, and said, "Guys, I want to thank you all for being with me, in a time that I need my friends most. The eye of the brand has increased in size multiple times over the past few days of traveling from continent to continent. It is almost to the point that I am a Cie'th. I want to know, before we actually go in and fight, Are you all prepared for anything?"

"Don't even say that. We'll be perfectly fine, even if we have to kick your monstery ass." I told him. He nodded, then turned around, going into the Chaos Shrine. We all quickly followed, and immediately noticed the large abundance of bats. After a long trek down the hall, we encountered a large room with a throne in it, where Caius sat, the Princess bound and gagged beside him. I raised my Gunblade, in sword mode, at him, and he simply laughed. "Well, I'm glad that you all have made it, to the place where the final battle must be fought. And the place where you all die." He boasted, standing up and summoning his sword. The rest of the group brought out their weapons, save for Terra, who simply raised her hands.

"No, Caius. This is the time that YOU die!" Dark yelled, firing three bullets at Caius. He quickly dodged them, and launched a massive fireball at me. The fireball was relatively fast, and it looked exactly like the one that he shot at me a week ago.

"The ultimate attack..." I said to myself, not wanting to have to die.

"NOOOOO!" I heard coming from my side. I opened my eyes to see Dark, running in front of me, and taking the entire blast, without even bothering to try and block it. As soon as the light died around him, Dark fell to the ground.

"Dark! Are you alright?" I asked him, running to his side and pulling his head into my lap, trying to keep him awake.

"I've...completed it...my true...Focus...To...protect you...from the ultimate...attack..." Dark managed to choke out from quick breaths.

"You...stubborn bastard. You knew that if I knew what your real Focus was, I would never let you go through with it. Damn the gods." I said, putting my head into his chest and actually crying in front of the others. I felt a hand pat me on my head, with metal gloves on.

"Don't worry, Claire, I'll be back before you know it." He said. I then saw his feet be covered in crystals, and watched as they slowly crept up his body, until they completely encompassed him. I grabbed his Gunblade, intent on keeping at least one thing from him, but the weapon turned back into electric sparks at my touch. The crystals continued to grow around him, until he was in the middle of a large, crystal field of wheat. "No..." I said, dropping to my knees. I dropped my Gunblade, and continued to cry.

"Ah, how sad. He actually managed to make it into crystal stasis. No matter, I'll just wait for him to be reawakened, and then kill him. After I show him your corpses, that is." Caius boasted. I stopped crying, rage filling my craw, and picked up my Gunblade. I started to yell a battle cry, and started charging at Caius. I swung multiple times, but all of these he blocked or dodged. He then grabbed the front of my vest and threw me at the others. I stood back up, and entered a sword lock with him, my fury being able to withstand the strength he was putting out. After a minute of this, we both heard something like Glass breaking, and we turned to the giant Crystal that Dark had made. I could visibly see a crack where the side of the gray wheat was, before it got smashed, from the inside. The fist moved away from our view, and I saw an actual, full face pop out, what I knew was Dark's face.

"God mode, Activated."


	7. Finale

**A.N. WOO! FINAL CHAPTER! THIS ONE WILL WRAP UP EVERYTHING! You guys can practically guess what's the situations with the certain texts.**

* * *

**Light's**** P.O.V.**

I looked at the large crystal that had just broken, and was amazed at the sight. Dark, who had just fulfilled his Focus, was alive and well, and appeared to be ready to kill. "Dark!" I yelled, amazed at his survival.

"Light. Don't you remember what you told me? I come back after the ultimate attack, and kick his ass!" He said, smashing the front of the crystal, enabling him to walk out, completely engrossed in a blinding Light. He put his hand to the cloth that now hung loosely from below his ear, and ripped the cloth away from his face, enabling us to see the thin lips, standard nose, and rounded chin. "Now, let's get to the end for this Final conflict." He said, summoning his Gunblade, with a glowing green edge on the blade. I jumped to beside him, and faced Caius. Dark created a glowing, yellow chain from what seemed to be nothing, and threw it at Caius, piercing his body and latching into it. Dark then started to pull on the chain, as if trying to get something out, when he yelled to us, "Don't just stand there, HELP!" I nodded, then grabbed some of the chain behind him, pulling as well. Squall fell in behind me, followed by Terra, Balthier, Fran, and Cloud on the end. We all pulled, and eventually, a purplish substance fell out of him, and started coming towards us. Dark got his Gunblade out, and made a single slash, cutting it in half, and it being absorbed into his sword. Caius looked at us with horror in his eyes, and he screamed.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" He yelled.

"Simple. Montezuma's Revenge. It's an attack that I can use that can remove people's Souls, or their Immortality." He said, raising his Gunblade. Caius turned his face into one of anger, and then charged at us. Dark and I quickly moved our Gunblades in front of us, and they immediately stabbed him, running completely through his body. Caius gasped for air, but quickly found that he couldn't. Caius looked at Dark, then at me, and back at Dark.

"W...Who are you?..." He choked out, blood coming out from his mouth.

"Darkanimir. I'm the last God." Dark said, enticing a gasp from everyone.

"N..No..." Caius said with his last breath, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and fell slack on our swords, dead. We pulled our swords out from his carcass, Dark's blade glowing and getting all of the blood off instantly. He sent his Gunblade away, and looked at all of us.

"Thank you. You have all done well. For your efforts, I shall grant each of you one wish. Fran, Balthier?" Dark asked them.

They looked at each other, and they nodded, and said, "The initial price that we agreed on."

"What, you don't want the additional millions?" He asked them.

"On the contrary. This has been most fun. Fran and I couldn't possibly go and take the rest of the money." Balthier explained. Dark nodded, walked over to his large Crystal sculpture, and broke off two large chunks from the top. He then turned and handed them to the two.

"A fortune, one not of value, but of sentiment. You can use these to remember of all of the excitement that this journey gave you." Dark explained.

"Thank you." Fran said to him, and stepped back, followed by Balthier. Terra then walked up to him, and held her hands together, and her head down.

"I want a Moogle of my own, one that doesn't mind having his Pompom ruffled." She asked of him. Dark put his hand into one of his sleeves, and pulled out one Moogle, with a large Pompom. He handed the little guy to Terra, who started to mess with the Pompom. The Moogle gave off a little purr, and Terra exclaimed, "Thanks, Dark!" Squall watched her skip back next to Balthier and Fran, then walked up to Dark.

"I want to make sure that all of the orphans have good homes." Squall asked.

"Done. I shall see to it myself." Dark said. Squall walked over to the line that was forming, and Cloud came up.

"I want proof that Sephiroth is removed from the Lifestream." Cloud asked. Dark waved his hand, and a large window appeared. It showed a section of a green stream, what had to be the Lifestream that Cloud was talking about. The green streams of light then started shifting around, until they glowed gold, then moved back to its green color.

"There. Sephiroth is nothing more than a bad memory now." Dark said. Cloud smiled, a first for him, and walked over to the line. Dark turned to me, and asked, "So, Claire, what would you like?"

"Oh, um...I..don't really know..." I said, scratching the back of my head. "I guess...I want Serah and Hope to stay safe, for the rest of their lives."

"Done." He said, raising two doll versions of my sister and the younger boy, and having them surrounded by a blinding light. "I also gave them their own immortality. However, this one is specific. They won't die from any injury or disease, but they will from age." He added.

"T..Thank you." I said to him. He nodded, then sent the dolls away.

"Guys, could I ask you all for some time alone with Lightning?" He asked them. They all nodded, then proceeded to walk out of the door to this room. After it was shut, Dark turned to me.

**Dark's P.O.V.**

"Claire, I'm sorry that I was this mysterious. I couldn't let you know that I was a God. If people saw a God as a l'Cie, then I would never be able to live it down. And that they would be without hope, since Gods could also become cursed, like they would." I explained to her.

"I..It's okay. I can completely understand. Now, what are you the God of? I heard somewhere that the Gods control some certain thing. So, what is yours? War, the Sun? What?" She asked.

"Believe it or not, I'm the God of Agriculture. That's why my crystal was of wheat. I trained myself to use the Gunblade." I explained. I walked closer to her, and held her thin, slender hand in mine, and then said, "I do have a wish of my own."

"What do you wish for?" She asked me.

"Well, since I am the last God, I am now the King. Would...Would you like...to be...my Queen?" I asked her, my cheeks becoming hotter with every second. Lightning's hands formed half-balls in mine, as if she were trying to figure out whether or not this was a dream.

"Oh, well, what...exactly...do I get if I say yes?" She asked me.

"Well, you would become a God, which means that you are immortal, without any catches. You also have the complete control over whatever you want. But, like I said, the choice is completely yours. And I'm only offering you this because...well..." I started to say until Lightning collided her lips with mine, causing me to stop talking and simply accept the passion of the kiss. We stayed connected by our lips for a few minutes, but that felt like a millenia to us. After a while, we did have to break off for air.

"I love you, Dark." She said to me.

"I love you too, Claire." I responded, cupping the back of her head, which enabled the both of us to make out better.

"Alright!" I heard from the doorway as soon as we started making out. Lightning and I parted our lips in time to watch the rest of the party fall out from the door, which I could guess was opened enough to watch us.

"Guys, really?" I asked them, crossing my arms as I watched them pick themselves up. They all started to scratch their necks, feeling awkward in this situation. "Alright, let's get back to the airship." I said to them, wrapping my arm around Lightning, pulling her along with me.

* * *

When we got back to the Airship, Lightning and I escaped to my room. We immediately laid out on the hammock, wrapped in each other's arms. Lightning had her head rested on my chest, and kept her hand right under it, where my brand once was. I had both of my arms around Lightning, keeping her beside me during this entire time. She had wrapped her legs around mine, entwining us into one, massive human braid.

"So, if I become a God, then can I still appear human?" She asked me.

"Claire, all of the Gods appear human. We can simply shift our size on command. How else do you think that I can actually stay in this plane of existence if I couldn't?" I asked her.

"Oh." She said, snuggling back up with me. I kept her close, but I also undid her belt that held her Gunblade on her. I took the thing away from her, and set it down beside where she kicked off her boots, and I had removed my grieves. I looked down at her feet, which were now completely bare.

"What, you don't like socks?" I jokingly asked her. She laughed, then started to make her feet dance along the exteriors of mine.

* * *

**A.N. WARNING! LEMON UP AHEAD. IF YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT, OR YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT A LEMON IS, THEN PLEASE, SKIP THIS SECTION. IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT WARNINGS, THEN JUST GO AHEAD. I'M A WARNING, NOT A COP!**

* * *

"Well, I can do more when I'm not wearing them." She said. I chuckled, then pulled her body up so that our heads were within distance of each other. We both leaned in slowly, and our lips touched instantly, becoming a kiss. Our lips parted, and I could feel a strange force on the front of my teeth. I opened my mouth, and our tongues started to dance inside. It was a massive fight for dominance, with her tongue making fast, quick strikes at mine, while mine used cunning tactics, and hit where she was getting a weak spot. Eventually, my tactics won, and she accepted playing the follow role in this battle. While we were making out, I slid my hands out of my gauntlets, and started making a journey up her vest, stopping just south of her breasts.

"Ngh..Wait." Lightning said, parting lips with me and sitting up. She went to the front of her vest, and started to undo the buttons. After they were all undone, she took off the garment, tossing it to the other side of the room. She then went to the back of her bra, and quickly undid that, holding the cups defensively over her breasts, teasing me. I chuckled, then sat up to meet her, and we continued making out. While we were lip locked, I raised my hands to her arms, gently prying the cloth that they were holding onto away. After this, I could feel her hands move to close to my neck, where she quickly grabbed the end of the zipper, and slowly pulled it down, causing my chest to be revealed to the entire room. My hands went to her breasts, where they started kneading them, like dough. Through our connection from the lips, I could feel the ecstasy that I was giving her through the moans she was giving off.

"Mmh...Dark?" She asked, parting lips from me again.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"Don't ever leave me like that again." She said, pulling the coat and sash off of my torso, making us both bare chested in this room.

"As you wish." I said to her, kissing her again, where we again fought in a battle for dominance, where I prevailed yet again. I moved my hands to the front of her skinny jeans, where I slowly undid the button holding them together. After this, I slowly and stealthily pulled down the zipper on that, causing her to wiggle her hips, as if she were trying to get out of them. I happily complied, shifting positions so that she was resting on top of me, and using my hands to start the journey off of their wearer. As soon as they got past her ass, she started to shake her legs, the force of the motions causing the jeans to quickly pool around her feet, allowing her to literally kick them off of her body. After this, I let her attack the front of the sashes that made a belt for me. After that was thrown across the room, she went to the front of my pants, which had came to me with Auron's coat. She quickly undid the buckle that held the two sides together, and then practically tore them off of me. After that, I was in only my underwear, and she was in her panties.

"Oh, Gods, we...We're really about to do this, aren't we?" She asked me, looking down at both of our bodies, taking in all of the sights.

"Yes. Yes we are. If you would like to." I said to her, taking her hands in mine.

"I would love to." She replied.

"As you wish." I said to her. I went to her panties, and slowly slid them off of her frame, while she quickly made my boxers head straight to my knees. As soon as I was exposed to the cool air of the ship, my minor god extended, brushing up against Lightning. She and I entered another lip lock, where after I started fighting back, I moved so that I was on top of her. She parted from me and laid on the hammock, her blue eyes looking directly into my grays. She nodded, which I replied with another nod, and looked down to better line up with her. With a single thrust, I plowed directly into her, causing her to nearly scream in pleasure.

"Oh my Gods, I...I can't believe I haven't done this before..." She said, gripping my shoulder blades, trying to keep the recoil from the pain down to a minimum.

"Do you want me to back out now?" I asked her.

"No, I want you to love me, Dark. Now and forever." She said, kissing me again.

"As you wish." I said. I then started on our final leg for this race. I leaned down to kiss her, where I let her gain dominance in this round. She moved her arms from on my shoulder blades to around my neck, keeping her closer to me. I continually thrust my minor god into her, limiting the overwhelming strength that I have to a bare minimum, in order to keep her pelvis in one piece after we were done. I kept up the pace, with three thrusts every fifteen seconds, and I could feel her squirming in ecstasy under me. We shifted in our movements, with each push, we both pushed together. With each pull, we just barely parted, only barely entered. Lightning thrashed upon every muscle twitch. She dug her nails into my arms, trying to keep a bare grip on reality. I held my eyes open, barely able to function normally, and saw my vision getting black around the edges.

"D...Dark! I'm...gon...na..." Lightning managed to choke out, in between her moans. After three more thrusts, I could feel her juices splash against me almost instantaneously.

"Ka...me...ha...me...HA!" I yelled as I released my load deep into her. After we both started to flow back into reality, I flipped her back onto me, and we both collapsed in the hammock. I stretched out an arm and levitated a large sash over to us, using it to wrap around us like a blanket. Lightning pulled me closer to her, and I wrapped an arm around her, keeping her as close to me as possible.

"Don't let go." She told me.

"As you wish." I replied.

* * *

**Light's P.O.V.**

I laid there, next to Dark, my head resting on his chest, immediately after we fooled around. I was clamped around his midsection, almost like a leech on him. I was relaxed by the sound of his heart, which was beating with a massive beat. I closed my eyes, and I could actually feel the slow creeping of his seed inside me. *Let's just hope that nothing forms immediately.* I thought. I listened to his heartbeat again, and found that my eyes were starting to shut with each of the beats. I eventually complied, and quickly fell asleep, threading my legs in between his.

* * *

"Claire?" I heard from the realm of the awake.

"What? I wanna sleep..." I said, shutting my eyes even harder.

"Come on, Claire. We need to get up. We're about to go and let Squall and Terra off." Dark said to me, shaking my body. I reluctantly opened my eyes, and looked up to see Dark's smiling face staring at me, confirming that what had happened wasn't a dream. I smiled, and started to get off of him, his arm sliding away from me as mine slid out from him. I held the sash that he had gotten over my body, and gotten off of the hammock, wrapping the cloth around me. I walked over to the corner, and looked at the large pile of clothes that we had created after our skirmish. I quickly found my panties, which were on the top of the pile, and slid them on, the light blue fabric turning into a darker shade of blue as it reached the home position. I went over to the skinny jeans that were lying, crumpled, over one of my boots, and started to slide in them. Once they hit my ass, however, they decided to try and not cooperate. I decided to try and use force to get into the stupid things, and started to jump up and down repeatedly. I did this for a few seconds, until I felt another set of hands fall over mine, and they aided me in bringing them up to my waist. I went to button and zip the pants, and the hands kept where they were, by my waist.

"You're too kind, Dark." I said to him.

"Thank you." He replied. I walked over to the rest of my clothes, putting on my vest first, forgetting that I also had a bra to wear. *Fuck it.* I thought to myself, stuffing the garment into my back pocket. I walked over to the wall where my holster was, and put that on. Dark helped me put on my boots, him already in his pants and various sashes. As soon as I was ready, I told Dark that I would be going into the main cabin. He and I gave each other a quick peck, and I left, and went into the cabin. I took my seat behind Fran, who had Balamb in her sights.

"You and Dark had a lot of fun?" She asked me.

"Uh, you could say that." I said, noticing that Balthier was not in his usual seat, in the copilot chair.

"So, how was it?" She asked me.

"I'm sorry, what?" I replied, not understanding her.

"How was the sex?" She asked me, after hitting a key and turning her chair away from the controls.

"Uh...Why would you..." I started to say, my eyes wide open.

"Never try to have quiet sex near a Viera. There's a reason as to why we have these large ears." Fran said, motioning to her head. *Damn. I've got to remember that next time." I thought.

"Uh.. Shouldn't you be driving the ship?" I asked her, trying to turn the conversation.

"It's on Autopilot. So, how was it?" Fran asked again. I sighed, knowing that I would not be able to get out of this one.

"Yes, we did have sex. And it was wonderful. Now, can we get off this topic?" I asked her.

"Sure. By the way, you may want to take your bra out of your back pocket. Balthier's coming back, and I highly doubt that he won't notice your breasts hanging." Fran said, turning her chair again. I looked at her ears again, amazed at what they could do, when I remembered what she had told me. I quickly slid the undergarment out of my pocket, and put it on through the side of the vest. I had just gotten done straightening the straps not to show when Balthier came back in.

"Ah, it's good to see at least one other person up here. Squall, Terra and Cloud haven't come out of their rooms yet." Balthier said as he walked in. He sat down in his normal spot, and asked Fran, "So, did you girls have a nice chat while I was gone?"

"Yes. But it was strictly girl to girl. You can't get the information out of me." Fran said to him.

"I wasn't trying to find out." Balthier said to her, starting to flip some of the additional switches. Dark walked in after a few minutes and sat down behind Balthier. "Ah, good, now both of the lovebirds are here. So, how was the sex?" He asked Dark.

"WHAT?!" Dark and I yelled at him.

"Balthier!" Fran said, slapping the man behind his head, "One mustn't ask someone about their love life. Now shut up and keep helping me pilot."

"Alright... By the way, next time, try to be at least somewhat quiet. People in Kazham heard you two." Balthier said to us. Dark looked up at the ceiling, embarrassed, and I felt my cheeks growing hot, all of the blood rushing to them. I looked at Fran, who had turned her head towards me, and she nodded. Fran looked at Balthier, and smacked him straight across the face.

"Ow. What was that for?" Balthier asked her.

"Just because. You deserved it." Fran said, heading for the airport.

* * *

We let off Squall and Terra here, watching as they went back to where the Orphanage was, Terra's Moogle in her arms. The leaving was awkward, and Terra kept staring at us, as if we were some new, foreign object.

"I...I'm sorry, Terra. Why are you staring at us?" I had asked her.

"Oh!...Nothing...Nothing at all..." She said, her face starting to turn red. I could almost guess why she was staring at us at that moment, which caused me to blush yet again. Terra waved by to us, and Squall just nodded, and followed her. After we saw that they had went inside the building, we left, deciding to go to Edge again. Cloud went back into his cabin, while Dark and I went to the overlook place on the ship, where we saw entire forests and oceans pass us by as we were headed to the city. Dark and I were holding onto the bar that kept people from falling off of the ground and into the glass, and our hands were nearly touching. I looked at him, and he smiled, inching closer to me. I followed this, inching closer to him as well. After a few minutes, we were right on top of each other, with his arms on the outside of my arms, and then he moved his arms towards me. They soon encompassed me in a large hug, where I placed my left hand on his hands, where they laced themselves together on my stomach, and I moved my right hand to his face, pushing his face away from my head, myself laughing in the process.

"Hey! What was that for?" He said, laughter in the middle of this. I let out a giggle, and turned to face him.

"Because I fucking felt like it." I said, tapping him on the nose. He chuckled, and then moved his gauntlet-less fingers along my side, enticing a few laughs being squeezed out of me.

"Oh, I didn't know you are ticklish." He said with an evil grin on his face.

"Oh shit." I said, and was immediately bombarded with him tickling my sides. I couldn't stop laughing, which was causing my sides to hurt. I could barely even breathe, and yet, I kind of liked it. Knowing that I would pass out soon, I kicked Dark in his leg, and he finally let up.

"Okay, Three minute breathing break." He said, moving his arms from my sides.

"Alright, but you get no such pleasantries." I said, jumping on him and bombarding him with my own version of tickling. He started laughing almost immediately, and he was laughing hard. I could feel his legs flail around helpless under me, unable to move with the crazy vibrations I was sending him. After a while, he did manage to choke out a few words.

"Okay! I gotta pee!" He said through laughs. I stopped tickling him, and sat back down on the cold metal. He sat up, and said, "That...Was fun..."

"Yeah. I have an idea for more fun..." I said, a grin forming on my face, my eyes making me look mischievous.

"What's your idea?" He asked me.

"Why don't I _show _you..." I said to him, going over to him on all fours.

**Dark's P.O.V.**

Lightning was crawling over me, and went up to my face first, giving me a quick peck. She then moved her head down on me, hovering it over my pants, where she was messing with the buckle. As soon as she got that done, she attacked my zipper and button.

"Are you.." I started to ask her.

"Shut up." She said to me, pulling my fly open, exposing my boxers to the air. Seeing her hover over me like that nearly immediately made my minor god extend yet again, poking out through the flap in my boxers. "Perfect." She said. She then craned her neck down, and kissed the tip of it. Sensing a thousand tingles coming from that certain spot, I squeezed my fist, trying to control my strength.

"_**Alright, guys. No more hankey pankey in the ship.**_" We heard Fran's voice rain from the intercom.

"Dammit." Lightning said.

"_**I heard that.**_" Fran boomed.

"You know, sometimes I hate how good Viera can hear." I said, putting my minor god back into my pants.

"_**I heard that too.**_" Fran said.

* * *

After dropping Cloud off in Edge, I wished Balthier and Fran a good rest of their lives.

"Aren't you staying with us and going back to Rabanastre?" Balthier asked us.

"No, Sorry. I have a feeling that we are going to be needed elsewhere." I said, waving to them. As we watched them fly away, Lightning and I held each other in an embrace. As soon as the ship left, I held Lightning in my arms, the same way a man would carry his new bride. Focusing on one area in particular, I teleported us to the house of Serah and Snow Villiers. I specifically teleported us to the outside of the house, as to not spark a panic. I stepped onto their porch, setting Lightning down, and let her ring the doorbell, taking charge of the situation.

"I'll be there in a second!" I heard Serah say from far away. I could hear a shuffling, and running to the door with bare feet. When the door opened, Serah said, "Yes, who is...?"

"Hey Serah." Lightning said to her, and I could tell that a smile was on her face.

"CLAIRE!" Serah yelled, wrapping her arms around her sister in a massive hug, which Lightning returned. Serah looked at me, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I can better explain who I am in a more private setting. Either way, we would also prefer if we spoke to Hope Esthiem as well. Might as well explain this to everyone once, instead of repeating it multiple times." I said. Serah nodded, then invited us in. As we walked in, I immediately noticed how much larger it looked then from the outside. She walked off in another direction, telling us to wait while she called Hope over the phone. Lightning and I sat down on a couch, nearby the door, and waited for Serah, Snow, and Hope to come to us. After a few minutes, Serah came back to us, and sat down in a chair near us.

"Snow is coming home soon, and Hope will be here around that time. So, how long have you been around?" She asked Lightning.

"A couple of weeks, now. I've been working a lot." Claire responded.

"What have you been doing then? I missed you..." Serah said, bringing her legs up in her chair.

"Well, I've been busy...Killing Caius..." Claire told her sister.

"WHAT!" Serah yelled out.

"Relax. I wasn't alone. This guy led us." Claire said, shaking my shoulder.

"Oh, well then, who is this guy?" Serah asked. Lightning looked at me, and I shook my head.

"He wants to tell you himself, but when everyone's here." Lightning said.

"Oh, okay..." Serah said. We sat in ungodly silence for three minutes, before I went and got a drink. After I came back to my seat, the front door opened, and a man with a beanie who I instantly recognized as Snow Villiers walked in, followed by a boy who was at about half height. I instantly recognized him as Hope, and now remembered that I had given the girl and this younger boy Immortality, but not this man. *Lightning must not like this guy.* I thought.

"So, who's the guy?" Snow asked, rather rudely. I motioned for both of them to have a seat, enabling them both to have full view of me.

"Please, it would be much easier to explain everything if the both of you were reclined." I said. Hope went to the floor and sat, while Snow walked to behind where Serah was sitting, and leaned his body against it, using his arms to keep himself from falling.

"Well? We're waiting." Snow said, again rudely. I took another, long sip from my glass, and intentionally made them wait while I ran the taste through my brain.

"Some know me as the man to pray to if their crops won't grow. Some know me as a man who cares for the environment. Some even think that I am the cause for their scourge. However, these are not who I truly am. I am merely an etipath of their knowledge." I said, standing up and walking over to a dying rose that was in the corner, neglected from the sun.

"Who...are you?" Serah asked me.

"I'm Darkanimir, the God of Agriculture." I said to them. I picked up the plant, placing my glass in its place, and raised it to my face. As soon as I was close to the withered bulb, I said, "_Crescunt, rosula, crescunt! Obedire domini vestri meminerit._" After I had finished speaking, color came back into the rose, its petals turning a solid red yet again, and the leaves grew from being withered. I turned from its corner, and placed it in a windowsill, where it moved towards the direction of the sun.

"Woah..." Said Hope, amazed at what I had done.

"No kidding..." Snow said, this time not being rude.

"That flower, it looks so..." Serah started off, "...pretty..."

"Thank you. Now, this is not the cause as to why Claire and I are visiting. You see, she recently asked me of a wish, which I have granted. As of now, One Hope Esthiem and One Serah Villiers are Immortal, to a sense." I explained.

"What? What about me?" Snow asked, back to being rude, and moved to stare at me dead in the eye. I scoffed, then laughed at his attempt to intimidate me.

"It seems that someone was looking out for who they truly care for, not for immature brats that they just so happen to be related to. So, I'm sorry, Mr. Villiers, but you don't get their Immortality. Besides, I've already said that their Immortality was to a sense. So, Would You Kindly shut the fuck up, and Would You Kindly sit down so that I can finish?" I asked him, putting a forced command into those last two requests. Snow immediately closed his mouth and sat down, enabling me to continue. "As I was saying, Serah and Hope's Immortality is differed. They will die eventually, however, they cannot be killed from unnatural or out of place events. To better explain this, if they get sick, then no matter what it is, they will get better. If they are bitten by a snake, then they won't die of poison. If they are stuck anywhere without food, water, or shelter, then they shall remain in the world of the living. The only way for them to die, is because of age. They will die at the maximum age that they live to. This is to ensure a peaceful death. Also, something that was not a part of the wish, but I'm adding it anyway, even if you two are sinful for the rest of your lives, then you will still be able to live in Heaven in the Afterlife." I explained.

"Oh my Gods..." Hope said.

"Yes?" I said to him, jokingly.

"So, why did Lightning come to say this too? And what happens to her when she's dead and we're not?" Serah asked me.

"Lightning will not die before you. This is certain." I said.

"How?" Hope asked.

"I have asked Lightning to take a place, as Queen of the Gods, alongside me. She shall blossom into a Goddess." I explained. I then turned to Snow, who had been waiting for me to look at him, an expression of fear on his face, and I said, "Would You Kindly speak again?" Snow gasped, able to move his vocal cords again.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" He asked me.

"I simply used a thought, disguised by a request, to seal your vocal cords and keep you contained to that chair. It was for your own good. Now, Would You Kindly stand and be mobile again?" I explained, enabling him to move on his own again. He went to his wrists, and started rubbing them, as if I held shackles on him.

**Four hundred and Thirty Seven Years Later**

I rested alongside my shimmering Wife of many years. She and I ruled the Gods for years, after we recreated some and turned some mortals into new ones. Claire changed her name back to what it was, and used her former name for her element which she controlled. She and I fused our chairs in the Kingdom of the Gods together, enabling us to sit close to each other. We had sired two children, a Boy, with his mother's length in hair, but my Grey eyes, who was named Chaos. The other child was a Girl, who had a mixture of my black hair and Claire's pink hair, and Claire's eyes, so we decided to name her Cosmos. They both wielded Gunblades, which were passed down from their respective parents. I called the two into the main throne room, which they did, and immediately fell to one knee, in respect.

"Father. What is it that you desire?" Chaos asked.

"Yes, what is the dilemma, Mother?" Cosmos asked.

"Ah, yes children. You see, your mother and I have gotten very old throughout our years. We can't keep the other Gods and Goddesses in line. We need you to help us out, in one request." I asked them.

"What is the request, Father?" Chaos asked, my Gunblade dangling from his belt.

"Take control of our thrones, immediately following our passing. I wish to be with my sister, and my friends." Claire said to them. Chaos and Cosmos gasped at us, not believing what we had said.

"Mother, Father, surely you must be kidding." Cosmos asked us.

"We are not kidding. And don't call us Shirley." I said, chuckling a bit at the last part.

"But... Father... I don't believe that I'm ready to rule." Chaos said, coming closer to the throne.

"Of course you're ready, my children. You need only listen to your hearts. That is why we gave you them." I said to them, rustling Chaos's hair and tapping his chest.

"Mother!" Cosmos exclaimed, running to the throne, jumping on it, and giving Claire a large hug, which she returned.

"It's alright, Cosmos. We will always be with you. Just look into your hearts." Claire said to the girl, who had blossomed into what the Mortals would classify as a young woman.

"You...You'll still listen to us. After you pass on, right?" Chaos asked, tears trying to form in his eyes.

"As you wish." I said to them. They both nodded, then left the throne room. I looked at Claire, who nodded, and crawled on the throne, positioning myself on top of her. She kissed me, which I returned, enticing a make out war between our mouths. While we were kissing, Claire and I both willed ourselves away, and we started to feel the crystal forming at our feet. As we kissed, we moved our lower clothes so that we would always be connected, even in death. As soon as I stuck it in her, that part of us was covered in crystal. I went back to Kissing Claire, who wrapped her arms around my neck, while I wrapped my arms around her waist, now being sealed in Crystal. After a few minutes, only our necks and our heads were uncovered by Crystal, when we separated for a moment.

"I told you that I would never let go." I said to Claire.

"Thank you, Dark." She responded.

"You're welcome, Light." I answered back, reminding her of her old nickname. She looked at me, and we entered a final lip lock, as our heads were completely covered in the Crystal. Our Souls quickly escaped our bodies, and we floated a small distance away, watching as the final touches of the large Rose came into view, with the thorns looking more vicious in the shade of black they were in. Claire and I floated past the ceiling, and into Heaven itself, where we saw Snow, Serah, Hope, Balthier, Fran, Cloud, Terra, and Squall once again.


End file.
